Parking guide



Oct. 5, 1965 T. R. MORTON 3,209,662

PARKING GUIDE Filed Jan. 17, 1963 INVENTOR.

F 4 TED R, MORTON,

y awmw ATTORNEYS- 3,209,662 PARKING GUIDE Ted R. Morton, Kettering, Ohio, assignor to Armco Steel Corporation, Middletown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 252,189 Claims. (Cl. 94-31) This invention relates to parking guides which are used to position cars in a parking lot, garage, or other parking area, and relates more particularly to a metallic parking guide which is formed from steel tubing.

A principal object of the instant invention is the provision of a metallic parking guide which is of a triangular cross section and characterized by having been formed from a continuous length of tubing.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a parking guide of the configuration just characterized in which the three sides of the guide are of concave configuration, thereby materially enhancing the strength of the guide against mashing or crushing forces.

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a parking guide of the character described which, being formed from tubular stock, has an integral closed bottom resulting in a structure which is simple and neat in appearance with no place for water, trash and debris to collect around or underneath.

Still a further object of the instant invention is the provision of a parking guide having closed or capped ends to prevent the entry of debris or other objects, the guide being additionally characterized by essentially straight lines with no sharp corners, bends or breaks.

Yet a further object of the invention is the provision of a parking guide of the character described which is simple and easy to install with a minimum number of fastening devices.

The foregoing, together with other objects of the instant invention which will appear hereinafter or which will be apparent to the skilled worker in the art upon reading this specification are accomplished by that construction and arrangement of parts and by those procedures of which an exemplary embodiment shall now be described.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view of a parking guide in accordance with the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of one end of the parking guide.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a partial perspective view of a parking guide in accordance with the instant invention.

' FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away illustrating a preferred means for securing the parking guide in place.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the manner in which the guide is contacted by a vehicle wheel.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 generally indicates a one-piece parking guide formed in accordance with the invention, such guide being of triangular configuration in cross section and having inclined side walls 2 and 3 and a generally horizontally bottom wall 4 joined together at their meeting ends by rounded edges 5, 6 and 7. Preferably the cross sectional configuration of the guide will be that of a 60 isosceles triangle since such configuration has been found to be best suited to meet the force load as applied from a fourteen or fifteen inch standard automobile tire and wheel. That is, and as seen in FIGURE 6, a direct force line A from the center of a fourteen or fifteen inch automobile tire 16 will pass along and parallel to one side of the triangular guide,

3,209,662 Patented Oct. 5, 1965 such as the side 3, thereby gaining maximum strength from its shape. This is particularly true where the guide is drawn from three inch diameter round tubing which has been found to be ideally suited for most uses. Such tubing will result in a guide having a height and a base width of just under three inches.

Where three inch diameter tubing is employed, the rounded edges 5, 6 and 7 will have a radius on the order of three-eighth inch. It has been found that such configuration permits cars to drive over the guide without fear of damage to tires, wheel alignment, or underbody parts.

The side walls 2 and 3 and the bottom wall 4 all have a slight concavity; and where the guide is formed from three inch diameter stock, such concavities will have approximately eleven inc-h radius which results in a onesixteenth inch depression at the center of each of the walls. While such concavity is relatively slight, it is nonetheless important in that testing has proven that a triangular guide with concave sides is significantly stronger in mashing or crushing than the same shape with straight sides. For example, tests on straight sided guides resulted in gauge readings between 4400 and 5700 pounds with an average of 4980 pounds. Otherwise identical guides with concave sides withstood gauge loads between 5100 and 7000 pounds with an average of 5700 pounds. Consequently, on the average the concave sides result in a fifteen percent improvement in strength. It is to be understood that the poundage readings just given do not indicate actual load, but rather comprise relative readings on the test apparatus. It should also be explained that the mode of failure is different between guides having straight and concave sides. A straight sided triangular guide will fail by buckling and a sudden loss of load, whereas a guide with concaved sides prevents buckling and when failure occurs, it is by an outward rolling of the bottom corner, i.e. an increase in the length of the bottom chord. Such type of failure does not result in a sudden loss of load.

The overall length of the guide does not constitute a limitation on the invention, although normally the guide will be any length from two feet up depending upon the requirements of any given installation. Similarly, the material from which the guide is formed does not constitute a limitation on the invention, and while a preferonce is expressed for zinc coated steel stock or either sixteen or eighteen gauge, it could be made in other gauges and from other materials. For example, the guides could be made from aluminized steel, various weight zinc coated steels, other metallic coated steels, plastic coated steels and other non-metallic coated steels, aluminum, plastic and other similar materials.

The opposite ends of the guide are folded downwardly and inwardly to define gussets 8 and 9 with the end edge portion 5a of the rounded edge 5 folded downwardly into an essentially vertical position with its lowermost free edge contacting the bottom wall 4 at essentially its center line. It has been found that such folded end best meets the requirements of simple, neat and attractive end closure; and in addition the gussets 8 and 9, and the edge portion 5a structurally reinforce the ends of the guide. The folding operation results in inclined and rounded end edges 10 and 11 which are free from sharp projections which might be injuriou to both the tires of a vehicle and to a pedestrian. It will be evident that the folded ends effectively close the ends of the guide and prevent the entry of trash and other debris and also the feet of children who might be playing in the parking lot. It will be evident, however, that other end treatments are possible utilizing metal, wooden, or plastic end caps which would be driven on or attached to the ends of the guides.

It has been found that the guide constructed in accordance with the instant invention can be readily installed and anchored in place using a pair of spikes which are rectangular in cross section. Such spikes will vary in length, normally from 8 to 24 inches, depending upon the nature of the supporting surface and subsoil. In an exemplary embodiment, and as best seen in FIGURE 5, a three-eighths inch square opening 12 may be punched in the upper edge spaced inwardly approximately one and a half to two inches from the folded ends of the guide with a three-eighths inch square opening 13 located directly beneath the opening 12 in the bottom wall 4 of the tube. Preferably, the bottom opening 13 will have its side edges rotated 45 with respect to the top opening 12 so as to accommodate the rectangular spike 14 which normally has a 45 twist 15 in three or so inches of length so as to prevent if from being pulled out of the ground or other substance in which it is embedded. It will be evident that additional pairs of spike receiving openings may be provided throughout the length of the guides if such are required, or openings may be provided in the bottom wall 4 lying outwardly beyond the gussets 8 and 9, although for most installations it has been found that a single pair of spikes positioned as described will suffice. Where separate end caps are employed, it will be evident that the spikes may be utilized to secure the end caps in place.

As should now be evident, a guide constructed in accordance with the instant invention provides an extremely rigid yet inexpensive and easily manufactured parking guide which provides a positive indicator to the driver when his vehicle is in proper position. The triangular guide with concave sides is significantly stronger than the same shape with straight sides; and the folded ends present reinforcing columns to prevent mashing or crushing of the guide at the critical end points. The radii of the rounded edges are such that they are as small as possible to give maximum sharpness at the bottom of the guide to prevent debris collection and to present a neater appearance, and yet they are sufiiciently rounded so as not to damage the tires of a vehicle driven in contact therewith.

The guide may be readily fashioned from tubing as the tubing comes off the tubing mill wherein a fiat strip of stock is formed into cylindrical configuration and the meeting edges of the strip welded together to form a continuous longitudinal seam. Upon leaving the tubing mill, the tubing will be acted upon by guide means which will form the cylindrical tube into the desired triangular configuration, including the concave configuration of the resulting side walls. Thereafter, a single press operation may be utilized to completely form the folded ends and punch the spike openings therein.

It will be understood that modification may be made in the invention without departing from its spirit and purpose. For example, while a preference has been expressed for a guide formed from three inch diameter cylindrical tubing, it will be evident that the guide may be formed in various other sizes. Similarly, the radius of the corners of the shaped tubing will vary with tubing size, and depending upon the size of the tubing the cross sectional configuration of the guide may be other than that of an equilateral or 60 triangle. In fact, the guide need not be formed from a cylindrical tube; rather, the tube mill could directly form the strip into triangular crosssection or such configuration could be formed on a brake. It also may be noted that the opposite ends of the guide 4- could be finished with an integral flat portion, i.e. the ends of the tube flattened, or such ends could be folded inwardly to define an inverted T. Such configuration does not however, provide the smooth rolled edges of the downwardly and inwardly folded edges of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Having thus described the invention in an exemplary embodiment, and with the understanding that modifications may be made therein without departing from its spirit and purpose, what it is dsired to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A parking guide consisting essentially of an elongated tubular member which is triangular in crosssection comprising, side walls meeting at an upper rounded apex, and a bottom wall joined to said side walls forming lower rounded apices, opposite ends of said tubular member being folded inwardly and downwardly from said upper apex into contact with the bottom wall to form gussets which close the ends of said tubular member, the folded gussets below the upper apex being substantially vertical to provide reinforcing columns adjacent the ends of said tubular member, said tubular member having openings therein for receiving spikes to secure said tubular member to a pavement in a parking area.

2. The parking guide claimed in claim 1 wherein the walls of said tubular member are curved inwardly in crosssection.

3. The parking guide claimed in claim 2 wherein the side walls of said tubular member define a 60 isosceles triangle in cross-section, wherein said tubular member is formed from a three inch diameter cylindrical tube, and wherein said inward curvature of the side walls of said tubular member corresponds to the arc of a circle having a radius on the order of eleven inches.

4. The parking guide claimed in claim 1 wherein said openings are in vertically aligned pairs, one in the rounded upper apex of said member and the other in the bottom wall thereof, said openings being of square configuration with the opening in the bottom wall rotated on the order of 45 relative to the opening in the rounded upper apex of said tubular member.

5. The parking guide claimed in claim 4 in combination with spikes extending through said pairs of openings for securing said parking guide to the pavement, said spikes being square in cross-section and of a length substantially in excess of the height of said tubular member, said spikes being twisted at an angle on the order of 45 for each increment of the length thereof corresponding to the height of said tubular member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,726,267 8/29 Higgins 94-31 X 1,893,580 1/33 Colley 188-32 2,189,323 2/40 Noonan 188 32 2,725,958 12/55 Porter 9431X 2,771,162 11/56 Marsh 18832 2,851,935 9/58 Weeks 94 1.5 2,956,646 10/60 Isgren 188-32 3,040,636 6/62 Gregoire 94 1.5 3,065,680 11/62 Wiedman 941.5X

JACOB NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PARKING GUIDE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF AN ELONGATED TUBULAR MEMBER WHICH IS TRIANGULAR IN CROSS-SECTION COMPRISING, A SIDE WALLS MEETING AT AN UPPER ROUNDED APEX, AND A BOTTOM WALL JOINED TO SAID SIDE WALLS FORMING LOWER ROUNDE%D APICES, OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER BEING FOLDED INWARDLY AND DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID UPPER APEX INTO CONTACT WITH THE BOTTOM WALL TO FORM GUSSETS WHICH CLOSE THE ENDS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, THE FOLDED GUSSETS BELOW THE UPPER APEX BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL TO PROVIDE REINFORCING COLUMNS ADJACENT THE ENDS OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBE, SAID TUBULASR MEMBER HAVING OPENINGS THEREIN FOR RECEIVING SPIKES TO SECURE SAID TUBULAR MEMBER TO A PAVEMENT IN A PARKING AREA. 